In a horizontal chamber-type coke oven (hereinafter, simply referred to as “coke oven”) configured by alternately connecting combustion chambers and carbonization chambers in an adjacent manner, coke is produced by heating and dry-distilling coal (charged coal) charged and filled into the carbonization chambers with combustion gas that is supplied into the adjacent combustion chambers. The produced cakes of coke are extruded from the respective carbonization chambers by extruders and discharged to the outside of the oven. Then, the coke cakes are cooled and provided as products.
As the number of years of operation of the coke oven increases, extrusion force necessary for extruding the coke is increased because of irregularities formed on oven walls due to deterioration over long use. This results in the occurrence of a phenomenon called extrusion stoppage or oven clogging, which can make the discharge of coke from the carbonization chambers difficult in some cases. The occurrence of extrusion stoppage or oven clogging may involve the lowering of extrusion cycles by the extruders and so on and thus lower productivity. To avoid these situations, it is important to grasp the extrusion force when the coke oven is operated.
For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a method for deriving a resistance index that the coke receives when extruded based on information relating to irregularities generated on the side wall surfaces of a carbonization chamber. Patent Literature 2 discloses a method for calculating an extrusion load of a coke cake by performing an extrusion test of a test coke cake.